Prosperity Volume 2
Prosperity Volume 2 August 22, 2005 Chief Editor- Enrique_Mendoza 'American Mafia: A History of It’s Rise to Power' Written by Thomas Reppetto A fabulous history deserves to have a fabulous book written about it. This is definitely one of those books and histories. Reppetto’s vivid narrative describes how crime families from a variety of ethnic backgrounds were shaped by conditions in big cities in the late nineteenth century. Spurred by prohibition, which provided many opportunities for organized crime, men like Chicago’s John Torrio and New York’s Lucky Luciano built their organizations along corporate lines, parceling out territories and adopting rules for the arbitration of disputes. Good management and a tight organizational structure enabled Italian gangs to continue operations even when leader were jailed or “rubbed out.” In this book, Reppetto acknowledges the fact that while bootlegging ties to “legitimate” businesses and café society gave Mafia big shots a shadowy respectability, it was bullets and bribes that counted. By the late 1940’s the American Mafia had ties in Hollywood and Detroit, Miami, New Orleans, and of course, Las Vegas. How a locally grown organization of criminals achieved, enhanced, and maintained power through long-established alliances among local politicians, racketeers, and cops lies at the center of this definitive account. I suppose you could say, Thomas Reppetto added flesh and blood to one of the most notorious chapters in our nation’s history. This book was exceptionally well written and very interesting to read. 'Fascism and the Mafia' Written by Christopher Duggan This amazingly accurate and detailed account of the Sicilian mafia’s status with the Italian government, covers everything from the mafia and the State, Mussolini’s views of the mafia, the effect the mafia had on the Italian economy, to the immigration of many mafia families right before and during the second World War. Of course, all of these are definite connections that can be made to my topic. Perhaps the most interesting section of the book to read had to deal with the economy. “ Mori regarded Sicilian society as thoroughly infected. Shortly after his arrival at Palermo he announced that he intended to free the island from the ills, which, “paralyse, pervert, and pollute every form of social activity.” One area to which he paid great attention was the economy. His “surgery” here consisted of removing Mafioso from the Palermo bureaucracy and arresting troublesome gabelloti.” Throughout the book, several instances and examples can be found enforcing Mussolini’s feelings toward the mafia and it’s role in politics. During the late 1800’s, the mafia was no more than a secret society that used chivalry and family ties to have sometimes “-sketchy” political ties and influence. They were also known for the occasional use of violence or crime to either gain political power or prove a point to somebody. It was not until right around WWII or soon there after that the mafia became a truly ruthless, trigger-happy, backstabbing society who were actually feared by the general public and looked upon as what we would call terrorists today. When Mussolini came into power, his main goal was to rid the Italian government of this untrustworthy group of men who were mafia members. To do that, Mussolini had many of them tried for treason in the late 1920’s and early ‘30’s. Several were acquitted of charges, but many were found guilty and exiled. From there, many came to America… As I mentioned before, there was an interesting relationship between the mafia and the State during the late 1800’s. “ The development of the mafia as a criminal association cannot be separated from the problems that confronted the new Italian state after 1860. Many of these problems were compounded by ignorance.” From the way I understood the book, much of the mafia’s negative image was brought upon them by a weak, unstable Italian government of the time. It’s unfortunate that this was the case, but it’s true. As you can hopefully see, this book was highly intellectual and informational. Anybody interested in the mafia would do themselves wonders if the ventured out and read this book. An amazing topic such as this only deserves amazing books to be written about it. 'Mob: Stories of Death and Betrayal From Organized Crime' Edited by Clint Willis Perhaps the most compelling compellation of any topic that I’ve ever read, Mob: Stories of Death and Betrayal From Organized Crime tells the story of some of America’s most famous, deadliest mafia members of all time while also including several excerpts from fiction stories involving the mafia. Perhaps the most heart-pounding, intriguing story in the book is the one about Joseph Pistone, a former FBI agent, who spent six years of his life masquerading as a wise-guy with the Bonanno organized crime family. Clint Willis, the editor, made sure to include fictional and non-fictional stories about all aspects of organized crime in America. From the casinos and gambling, to the racketeering, to the narcotics and drug trade this book fully embeds it’s words and ideas into your mind forever. The best quality of this book is how it shows the other side of organized crime. It shows the horrible crimes and illegal activity from the perspective of an agent, a bystander, and occasionally a customer. Of course, because my topic was the American Mafia, this book had everything to do with my topic of focus. More specifically, it was the first book I’d read that actually told the story of an FBI agent. This was a satisfying twist on a topic that I’d already began to love, and forced me to want to read more and more books in hope of reading another story like that. Another connection this collection of stories had to my topic was it made the business aspect of organized crime appear much more important than in a book such as The Godfather. An interesting thing I noticed when reading this book was how little the mentioning of a family lawyer or attorney occurred. In most of the fiction books I read and movies I had seen they were a key component to one, the story and two, the family. The final connection I made with this book to my topic was the reinforcement of a concept that is commonly practiced by leaders of a crime organization. They try extremely hard to not come-off as un-friendly or hostile to another leader, even if they really are angry but have to mask or hide it somehow. That respect and sometimes-fake sense of camaraderie is very important sometimes when attempting to make a deal with someone. This was clearly evident and a valid concept considered when the Dons would meet together. In conclusion, this was an excellent collection of several mind-blowing stories and recollections that all deserve their story to be heard. If interested in the topic, this is a highly recommendable book worth reading and studying. 'Nevada Senator Scene- From The Godfather Pt.2”' Paul Baechtold While finding scenes relating to my topic (the Mafia) was not hard with movies such as The Godfather, The Goodfellas, and Scarface, choosing several that really were important and meant a substantial amount to the topic was. I wanted scenes that taught the viewer something about either the lifestyle, what the Mafia was, or how serious it was. These scenes were chosen because they made me, as a viewer of the movie; realize things about the Mafia that were interesting and somewhat “cool” to think about. The scene in the beginning of the second leg of the Godfather trilogy where the Senator is talking to Michael Corleone at his sister Connie’s wedding was one of those important scenes. The Senator was in to congratulate Michael on his successful operation of several hotels and casinos in Las Vegas, but also wanted to offer another sale to Michael. Michael, in the end said that no, he wouldn’t buy the operation. With the Senator quickly becoming aggravated, he all of a sudden lashed out at Michael describing his feelings, and what was, I’m sure, the feelings of many Americans of the time. He said derogatory ethnic terms, which led Michael to feel some hatred towards the Senator. After seeing the clip, I’m sure you will understand what I mean and critically analyze and think about their conversation. 'The Godfather' Written by Mario Puzzo This masterful work of literacy, got my adrenaline pumping, my mind thinking, and myself thoroughly engaged in the story/plot. A novel, and also a three part full length movie, The Godfather is a marvellous mixture of an intriguing plot and a writing style that makes you feel as if you’re part of the Corleone family, your self. In case you have not read the book or seen the Oscar winning movies, The Godfather tells the story of a Sicilian mob family trying to survive in America by illegal trade, racketeering, and murder. While Don Corleone (the Godfather), tries desperately to avoid too many confrontations with other families, he fully understands that murder and crime is occasionally necessary for the safety and well being of his family. Most “wise-guys” (members of these crime organizations) and leaders of the families strictly followed the rules and laws of Omerta. Omerta, which stands for family in Italian, describes the priorities of a mafia member. That is one of the connections I noticed to my topic. Quite often throughout the book, characters remind one another of Omerta, sometimes and sometimes not jokingly. On page 40, Don Vito Corleone responds to Consigliore Hagen’s question concerning how much family business the new son-in-law should be involved with. The Don responded, “ Never! Never! Give him something to earn his living, a good living. But never let him know the Family’s business. Tell the others, Sonny, Fredo, Clemenza.” Another connection this book had to the general topic of the mafia is how the wives of members would almost never wonder about or care about what their husbands did as a “job.” Also, this book covers how a member might handle a wife or girlfriend that does question or fantasize the things her male counterpart did everyday. An example of this can be found on page 48 when Kay (Michael’s girlfriend/fiancé) gets picked up to come see him. “Now Clemenza was assuring her in his wheezing gutteral voice that the “old man” thought Mike was the best of his sons, the one who would surely inherit the family business. “ What business is that?” Kay asked in the most natural way. Paulie Gatto gave her a quick glance as he turned the wheel. Behind her Clemenza said in a surprised voice, “ Didn’t Mike tell you? Mr. Corleone is the biggest importer of Italian olive oil in the States. Now that the war is over the business could get real rich. He’ll need a smart boy like Mike.” The final connection this book had to the Mafia was the way that families would look to be friendly to each other, but occasionally business matters would interfere and hostility would emerge. This was the common relationship between dons of families and was often an excuse used to prevent crime and murder from occurring against one’s family. One thing I truly realized when reading The Godfather was there was/is more to the mafia than unmerciful crime. There was a very promising business side as well. It was promising to the extent that you don’t get your brains blown out one night when trying to eat dinner with your wife and children. 'Soccer Odds For the Week of August 22nd' Johnny_blue_eyes (Bet Keeper) Enrique_Mendoza (Publisher) I (Johnny_blue_eyes) will take in bets for matches for the 1st three days Matches taking bets are… 22 August- Southend vs Southampton 4.00 3.30 1.60 23 August- Portsmouth vs Aston Villa 2.37 3.20 2.60 Sunderland vs Manchester City 2.75 3.20 2.25 24 August- Blackburn vs Tottenham 2.50 3.20 2.50 Bolton vs. Newcastle 2.10 3.20 3.00 Please MM me on match day if you want to place your bets. The next volume will hopefully hit newsstands in about a week... Assuming I can write that fast. EM